Puddingstone Cake
By Susanna van Rose Britain has lots of pebble beaches. What happens to these huge collections of shingle when they turn into rock? SUSANNA VAN ROSE explains by using a fruit and nut cake you can make at home. What is a conglomerate? A real, proper conglomerate should be made of rounded pebbles, some of which touch each other. In between the pebbles is fine-grained material, often sandy in texture, which holds everything together....
Igneous Obsidian Toffee
By Fureya Nelson Riggott FUREYA NELSON RIGGOTT made a fantastic geological recipe book in a previous Rockstar competition. Here we share three of her recipes to illustrate three different kinds of rock: one sedimentary, one igneous and one metamorphic. This is the second, or more specifically, igneous obsidian toffee. Obsidian is a igneous rock type that is a natural glass very rich in silica (around 70%) and low in water. It is...
Nothe Gardens Landslide, then and now
Week 10 is the final in our current Dig Deeper series where Alan Holiday shares a visually dramatic account of a major landslide that took place in the 1980s in Nothe Gardens, in Weymouth. A popular area for residents and holiday makers, Nothe Gardens is located on the southside of Weymouth Harbour along the Jurassic Coastline in Dorset. Alan shows us the huge impact the landslide had on the area, though luckily spared nearby Nothe...
Earth Materials – Geology Topics Found in GCSEs
With September seeing a return to school for most children and young people, week 9 of our Dig Deeper series takes a look at geology-related topics students may encounter in their lessons over the coming months. Rockwatch aims to nurture children and young people’s interest in geology outside of school informally as a hobby, but geology enthusiast, Robert Chandler, shows us it is possible to enjoy learning more of the science behind...
Coastal Protection at West Bay
In week 8 of our Dig Deeper series we return to the topic of coastal defences. This time, Alan Holiday tells us about Coastal Protection at West Bay. Found along Dorset’s impressive Jurassic Coastline just south of Bridport, West Bay is a quaint harbour resort with a fascinating geological history. Alan explains the geology of its East and West cliffs, formed from sand, clay and Forest Marble of the Lower and Middle Jurassic periods...